Chch Ganesha Temple new premises inaugurated

Christchurch’s Sri Ganesha Temple moved to its new premises with a grand opening ceremony thronged by hundreds on Sunday, December 11.

The land was bought earlier this year at 3 Bishopdale Court, Bishopdale, Christchurch.

The temple comes under the umbrella of Sri Ganesha Temple Trust, founded in 2018 with five active trustees and a management committee to establish a Hindu temple for worship and cultural practices in the area. While the primary goal of the temple was to provide a place of worship for the Hindu community in Christchurch, the Trust also aimed to actively promote cultural and religious values to young adults and to the general public in the South Island region.

The temple started with monthly prayer services on the second Saturday of each month and celebrated many Hindu festivals regularly.

Over the past five years, the Sri Ganesha Temple Trust has held yoga, meditation, and value classes for both children and adults in Christchurch and online during the COVID-19 lockdown period.

In the absence of a proper temple space, poojas and related events were held at various Christchurch City Council halls and online during the Covid pandemic. Efforts to secure a building with an aim to house the temple started with fundraising towards a building fund. After a substantial amount had been raised, the team sought out a piece of land or a building for the temple and began bidding on them whenever they became available.

After bidding successfully on a Bishopdale property, the Trust held various events to raise funds for constructing a permanent temple. The Trust also received contributions from trustees, devotees, and loans to secure the property. Immediately after the council approved the change of purpose, renovations began and were completed just days before December 11, 2022, when the temple was officially inaugurated.

The inauguration of the premises began on the day at 6 AM with Vastushanthi pooja, Puniyajanam, Lakshmi pooja, and Ganapathy homa/havan. These were followed by abhishekam, alankaram and maha deepam. Devotees performed bhajans and sang Thevaram and other devotional songs and performed bharatanatiyam dance performances.

Having completed basic renovations on the property in Bishopdale, Christchurch, the Trust is now looking to convert the building into a purpose-built temple. In the wake of the challenges ahead, the management team is urging support from the community.